Hundreds run for charity in MBJ 5K/10K

WESTERN BUREAU:

HUNDREDS TURNED up for the MBJ 5K and 10K Charity Run/Walk Saturday morning to mark the first major road race in the second city since the COVID-19 pandemic.

Brandon Kerr of MoBay Runners won the men's 5K in 18.53 minutes, ahead of teammate Garrett Abbott, who did 19.33 and Dwayne Webb with the women's 5K run going to Danielle Terrier in 25.31 minutes and she was followed by 11-year-old Arianna Shaw, who clocked 27.31 and 60-year-old Jocelyn Gordon with 28.24.

In the 10K run, Keniel Freeburn won the men's section in 39.54 minutes and Sabrina Morant took the women's equivalent in 1.04.22 hours.

The 5K walk for women was won by Jullite Reeves in 36.03 minutes while the men's winner was Noel Wedderburn in 35.26 minutes.

Hospiten, which provided emergency medical care on the day, took the prize for the largest participating team with 60.

Sharon Hislop-Holt, manager of business development and marketing at MBJ believes the turnout shows that Montegonians are interested in giving back to the community.

"It's definitely the largest one since things have been normalised. We targeted 1,000, had some 1,400 registering and well over 1,000 turned out, so the support was really great. It is about health and wellness but most importantly it's a charity event.

"MBJ Airports Limited believes that we can't be driven by economic activities alone, as we have to invest in the community through education of the youths. The proceeds will benefit the airport and Montego Bay community through education by providing scholarships," Hislop-Holt said.

Veteran road-race organiser Alfred 'Frano' Francis is excited about the future of road racing in Jamaica.

"It was absolutely awesome. We overshot the target of 1,000 in a big way registering over 1,300 persons. This shows how parched the ground was and how much people were looking forward to it. We must commend the Montego Bay Airport for the initiative to help with education and fostering a healthy lifestyle," Francis said.

Women's winner Terrier said: "It was great. Everything was so well organised, the people motivating each other were fabulous and the course was a good challenge. We are happy to back out here for my first in-person race after having to do virtual races."

Men's 5K winner Kerr said: "The track was wonderful and it was a great race so I feel like I am hungry for more. The track was not difficult because I do a lot of training over hills in Springfield where I am from."

Men's 10K winner, Freeburn said: "I started slow but as soon as I settled into the race I picked up the pace, especially in the last 5K and dominate. This race motivates me to keep training hard because we have more road races coming up and I am looking forward to them."